The Online Guide to Traditional
Games

Pitching disc games - History and Useful Information

Pitch
Penny

There are a whole variety of games which simply involve the throwing
of coins or discs at walls or at holes in a bench, chair, wall or box.
This game has been going on for time immemorial and its origins are lost
in time.

The most well know example in England comes from Norfolk and Essex and
is called Pitch Penny, Penny Seat, Penny Slot, Tossing the Penny or Penny
in the Hole. Essentially pennies are thrown across the room and
into a hole carved in the seat of a high-backed settle or wooden bench.

The illustration is from a children's book published in 1744. The chap
on the left is throwing a coin at the hole which is presumably located
at the centre of the little mound in front of him. The title of the picture
is "Chuck Farthing" so it seems that the name of the game changed
over the years as the currency changed. The same thing happened for Shove
Ha'penny which was previously called "Push Penny" and prior
to that "Shove Groat". The accompanying poem reads "As
you value your Pence, At the Hole take your aim; Chuck all safely in,
And you'll win the game". One might reasonably deduce from this that
several coins were thrown in a turn.

Toad in the Hole

Toad in the Hole is nowadays a markedly Sussex game, centred around the
town of Lewes, where the World Championship is held each year. In truth,
and rule variations notwithstanding, it is is the same game as Pitch Penny,
the only difference being that a dedicated table or box is used instead
of using a bit of convenient furniture that already lies in the pub.

The game seems to have originated around East Sussex and maintains a consistently ardent although largely localised following,
and is thriving in the areas where it is played. The Lewes Lions Club
in Lewes, East Sussex organises the "International 'Toad-In-The-Hole'
Competition" annually in the Town Hall in Lewes. Lion Ken Shipway, then
President of of the club, wrote to inform the author that the game had
a resurgence in recent years thanks to the competition. For instance,
the 2006 competition entertained 192 competitors in 48 teams of 4 people.
Up to the final it is the best of 3 games in a match and in the final
it is the best of 5 games. Teams from all over the world are invited to
enter! The author visited the World Championship in 2009, where they had
more entrants than they can cope with and so some of the less "serious"
teams don't make it to the starting line. According to the current event
co-ordinator, Alan Dunn, in 2011 it is still going from strength to strength,
oversubscribed with teams, and being very well supported by local businesses.
A full report, photos and information about the next competition can be
found on the Lewis
Lions website. They have looked at extending the event but do not
have enough members to man it presently.

The first official Toad in the Hole competition started in 1983 when a few tables were borrowed from local pubs in order to organise a competition at the Landport Community Centre for the Twinning Association. But it wasn't until 1995 that the annual event began to be held as part of the Lewes Festival. In 1996, eight tables were made for the competition although the tables were subsequently lost in the floods of 2000. Despite that setback, the annual event continued and became known as the International Toad in the Hole competition. In 2014, it should again host the maximum 48 teams.

There are varieties but commonly weighty brass discs, "toads",
are thrown about 8 feet or so at a table. In the centre of the table,
which is really just a wooden box on legs, is a hole at which the discs
are aimed. Discs which descend through the hole end up in a large
drawer which forms the interior of the table and which is pulled out to
collect the discs after each turn. 2 points are scored for a toad
in the hole, 1 point for a toad resting on the top of the table and normally
four toads are thrown per turn.

The
pictures show a modern commercial version of the game from the author's
collection featuring rubber instead of brass toads. It was obtained
from Masters Traditional Games.

There is a mystery surrounding this game - that of its origin. In continental
Europe, the similar game is called Frog or Toad because one of the holes
is a frog hole but in England it is the disks themselves that are called
Toads and the hole is just a hole. A further twist to the plot is
that "Toad in the Hole" is also the name of a traditional Yorkshire
dish consisting of sausagemeat in batter. So what exactly is the
relationship between the UK game and the European game?

The Oxford English dictionary has some extra information:- a quote from
E.H.Pinto, Treen, states "Toad in the hole probably originated in
England in Tudor times. But the fact that this 1969 passage is the
first mention of the game that the OED has found belies the statement,
somewhat. On the other hand, the dish called Toad in the Hole was
first recorded in print in 1787. The Guinness book of pub games
mentions a Mr. Aubrey Charman who apparently saw the European version
of the game in Alfriston in the 1920's. Consequently, it seems likely
that the game appeared in Southern England in the early part of the 20th
century.

So really, there are two potential theories for the ancestry of "Toad
in the Hole". The author would like to propose the first hypothesis
as follows. The game was seen in Europe by some enterprising Englishman
and upon his return, he decided to make his own "Toad" game.
Being as how the continental game is quite a complicated bit of furniture,
a simpler device was concocted with just the one hole. Although a less
interesting visual spectacle, a single hole is actually a greater test
of skill... But now there was no toad on the board to make sense of the
name, so over time it went from "Toad game" to the better known
phrase "Toad in the Hole". And the adopted name immediately
gives rise to the implication that the disks are in fact the toads. QED.

A second and rather less contrived theory would simply be that Toad in
the Hole is simply a modern version of those old games found all over
England in Pubs, Churches & public areas that involve tossing a coin
into a hole. Genuine Toad in the Hole games have a playing surface covered
in solid lead which gives some subtle opportunities that are unique -
for instance, some players are adept at digging the edge of the toad into
the soft metal as it lands so that it bounces back towards towards the
hole rather than sliding forward into it. The Essex and Norfolk Pitch
Penny holes are (or were) also usually surrounded by lead so any story
that they are not related would seem rather far-fetched. Perhaps the name,
however, did come about due to some random influence from across the channel.

The Frog Game

In the rest of Europe, it would seem to be a safe bet that similar games
were also quite common through the ages. A
relative and perhaps a descendant of such games is still played in bars
and cafes in certain parts of Europe. It consists of a piece of
furniture with several holes in the top surface plus obstacles to make
these targets more challenging. The number of holes, size and design
of table and the rules all vary from region to region. Players attempt
to throw coins or disks in the holes which score differently according
to their difficulty. Disks that land successfully slide down to
the front of the table to a compartment at the front of the table showing
the score. Another quote in the OED refers to the European game
as being a charity game.

In Portugal the game is called Jogo do Sapo, in France it is known as
La Grenouille or Tonneau in Belgium Tonspel or Pudebak, and in Catalonia
- La Rada. It is also popular in South America where it is called
Sapo. Linguists will observe that these names mean "Frog"
or "Toad" game. The reason for this is that generally
the most difficult hole is in the shape of an ornate frog or toad in the
centre.

The picture on the left shows an example of "La Grenouille"
from Normandy. This was very kindly sent for scanning by Anita Chapman,
Liverpool, England.

On the right, there is a picture of Sapo at a hotel in Nasca, Peru.
Courtesy Lucy Worrall and Matthew Murphy.

Cornhole

A game which may well be a derivative of Toad in the Hole is the American
game of "Cornhole". It seems to be centred around Cincinnati,
Ohio where is all the rage but it is rumoured to have begun in Indiana
and one person wrote to the author from Minnesota about the game. It uses
four bean bags per two man team. There are two (4 x 2 feet) ramps with
holes apprx 6 inches from the top (high part) of the ramp or board and
directly centered. The boards are placed around 30 feet apart and each
team has a player placed at each board. Play alternates between players
at one end each throwing their teams four bean bags. A typical way to
score is that any bag landing on the board without hitting the ground
first scores one point. Any bag in the hole scores three points.

In fact, quite a number of people have written to the author asking for
rules, board dimensions and so forth but really the game appears to be
a bit of an informal craze - without any 'official' rules or regulations.
Pundits needn't be concerned - this just makes it easier to construct
your own boards without any worries. Many pub games have been without
any official rules for centuries and all the better for it...

Holeyboard

A
number of people from North America have written to the author enquiring
about a game that is apparently popular in that region called "Holeyboard"
or "Washers" or "Ringers". In this game, large washers
(flat metal rings about 1 - 2 inches diameter) are thrown by a person
standing on one box towards another box 8 feet away. Each box is has 3
holes about 10 inches apart and the holes score 1 point for the near hole,
3 points for the middle hole and 5 points for the furthest hole. Players
go backwards and forwards, alternating the target box in the same manner
as for quoits or bowls. The objective is to reach exactly 21 points. Various
dimensions for the boxes et al have been reported and it appears to be
common to connect the two boxes with cord or rope - presumably so that
setting them at the correct distance is merely a matter of pulling the
rope taut. One person reported that he played with cups instead of holes
and another believed that the game was originally played with holes in
the ground - certainly, there do not appear to be any standards.

There is another version of "Washers" in existence which is
like a missing link between the game described above and the old game
of Quoits. Instead of 3 holes, the object is
still to throw washers into a single cup which is set into pits reminiscent
of quoit pits. Is this a single hole version of the above game or is it
a variation of quoits with a hole instead of a stake?

The origin of this game isn't clear and it's relationship to the other
games on this page, if any, is a mystery. If anyone, can shed any light
on these matters, the author would be pleased to receive an email from
them.

Pubs

Rules

Where to buy

Ben Ward has a brilliant site about Toad
in the Hole that has loads of pictures of different tables around
Sussex. Lewis Lions website
including information about the annual Toad in the Hole World Championship

Some sites that sell Sapo areJuegos del Sapo from Argentina.
Good site including plans to make the game.